Structural Survey on House Purchase?

Adamc

Hi all - My partner and I have had an offer accepted on a house. I am wondering if to just have a basic (£250) or in-depth full survey (£1500)?

The house costs £215000. It was previously bought in 2015 for £179,000. No significant work has been done. According to Zoopla, which may not be accurate, the house is worth £196,700. The estate agents valued it in excess of £210,000. We had to add £5000 to that to match the best offer on it. They went with us due to first time buyer status / no chain.

The kitchen has a flat roof extension.

Should I go for the full works in terms of survey at £1500? I am worried about backing out if theres a big problem but then again I wouldn't be able to afford major work to fix it. It all looked great when I viewed.

Surrey_EA

Generally there are two types of survey that buyers consider having carried out when purchasing a property. A homebuyers report, and the more detailed buildings survey.

What you may be referring to as the 'basic' survey is probably just the bank valuation, which should not really be considered a survey, the bank valuer may on spend 15-20mins at the property.

A structural survey is a separate thing entirely, which would be an inspection specifically of the structure of the building, but nothing else.

If you require a mortgage, you can ask your lender's valuer to carry out a homebuyers or buildings survey in addition to the valuation, which often works out cheaper. Or you can find an independent surveyor and organise it yourself.

For most purchases a homebuyers survey will be sufficient.

hazyjo

Ignore zoopla. At best, it's a good guess if similar things have recently sold nearby. Valued one of mine £100k under and another over £100k over.


See it as money well spent if it picks up something that you'd back out over. Are you seriously saying you'd rather save a couple of hundred quid to go in blinkered and end up with a problem that may cost thousands or tens of thousands that you would have pulled out over?


I'd go with a homebuyer's report of around £250-400 (as Surrey_EA sais, it's usually paid as a 'top up' to the lender's valuation. Would usually be pricier to pay for it separately from an independent surveyor).

robatwork

Why on earth is a full survey on a 200k house costing £1500?

https://hoa.org.uk/services/building-survey-compare-quotes/

I put in Watford as somewhere pricey but not quite London and got a full buildings survey quote for less than £500. I can't endorse that website but just an idea.

And ignore zoopla estimates completely - a total fiction.

Owain_Moneysaver

How old is the house, and how old is the extension?

And what do you expect the surveyor to tell you that you can't see yourself?

Note that a 'structural survey' from a surveyor is not the same as an engineer's report from a structural engineer, if you are actually concerned about the structural stability of the building.

mr_scientist

It depends on things like the age and the condition of the house. If it is pre-war, i.e, 1930's or older, or if it needs considerable renovations these are good reasons to go for a full survey. Other reasons could be large visible cracks that point to potential issues such as movement and subsidence.

As for the cost, we just had a survey done in London for ~£1000 and that's at the upper end. £1500 is definitely expensive!

Surrey_EA

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Note that a 'structural survey' from a surveyor is not the same as an engineer's report from a structural engineer, .

What many people refer to as a 'full structural survey' should correctly be known as a buildings survey.

Adamc

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

How old is the house, and how old is the extension?

And what do you expect the surveyor to tell you that you can't see yourself?

Note that a 'structural survey' from a surveyor is not the same as an engineer's report from a structural engineer, if you are actually concerned about the structural stability of the building.

The extension is 10 years old. The house was built in the 60s. It is a bungalow.

Owain_Moneysaver

Unless there's serious ground movement or other external influences there's unlikely to be much seriously wrong with a 1960s bungalow providing it wasn't previously owned by Bobby Bodger and his pal Kev The Cack-handed Kitchen Butcher.

There will, however, probably be wiring which does not comply with current regulations, plumbing that does not comply with current regulations, insulation that does not comply with current regulations, non-safety glass in places, asbestos in places, a possibility of penetrating damp from a slipped roof tile or blocked gutter, a possibility of under floor damp from blocked ventilation or bridged damp course, and a surveyor will probably recommend specialist reports for all of the above.

sheepy21

£1500 is insane, what on earth would they be doing for that money:eek: I'd just get the cheaper home buyers report for £250

Adamc

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Unless there's serious ground movement or other external influences there's unlikely to be much seriously wrong with a 1960s bungalow providing it wasn't previously owned by Bobby Bodger and his pal Kev The Cack-handed Kitchen Butcher.

There will, however, probably be wiring which does not comply with current regulations, plumbing that does not comply with current regulations, insulation that does not comply with current regulations, non-safety glass in places, asbestos in places, a possibility of penetrating damp from a slipped roof tile or blocked gutter, a possibility of under floor damp from blocked ventilation or bridged damp course, and a surveyor will probably recommend specialist reports for all of the above.

What would you recommend checking out if such recommendations are made?